


Arranged Family

by Bam4Me



Series: The Road Takes You Home [1]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Arranged Marriage, Bilbo is 35, Bilbo is Depressed, Bilbo is Smart af, Consort Bilbo Baggins, Depression, M/M, More tags to be added, NO NON CON, Protective Thorin, Thorin is a Softie, this is all consensual
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 10:46:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17242847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bam4Me/pseuds/Bam4Me
Summary: The Shire was actually delighted to help the dwarves of Ered Luin, providing food in exchange for workers in their town, but admittedly, the thain is having doubts over the contract they sent to seal the deal between their peoples. Luckily, his young cousin is willing to lend an ear to discuss their options on how to move forward while still providing the best help they could.Unfortunately, Bilbo decided on a course of action that is slightly concerning to him. Luckily, Gandalf is there to protect him in case it's a Bad Course Of Action.





	Arranged Family

**Author's Note:**

> So anyways, I got really pissed that basically all the arranged marriage AUs in this fandom have abusive Thorin (or, at least, very loud and constantly angry Thorin who scares the fuck out of Bilbo) and tons of non-con in them. "Be the change you want to see in the world," I say, as I spitefully write fics that I wish I could read.
> 
> Also, none of the fics ever have Bilbo going to the Blue Mountains instead of Erebor, and I'm in LOVE with the idea of the Shire helping the dwarves. 
> 
> littlesforfandom.tumblr.com

Bilbo Baggins was past the age of majority, but only thirty-five years old, when he sat in the study of his cousin, Thain Ferumbras Took III, studiously reading the contract set before him while he ignored the curious gaze that the wizard in the corner of the office studied him under. Gandalf was a strange fellow, but Bilbo himself has been called a strange fellow as well, so he thinks it’s more polite to just ignore the look than to be upset.

 

“The problem is, dear Bilbo, that we just can’t seem to find a hobbit, lad  _ or _ lass, willing to fulfill our end of the contract. I was hoping you might have some thoughts on the matter at hand.”

 

His cousin set a platter on the table that his assistant had handed him before they all went to the study, carefully pouring three cups of tea and setting out a small post-second breakfast snack. Something light, just a couple of muffins and pastries and also those delightful cookies which he had gotten the recipe from Lady Breim last month. Gandalf looked a little fatigued at the idea of trying to force all that down after second breakfast less than a half hour ago, and just politely took the tea to hand when offered.

 

Ferumbras gave his friend a small smile, knowing that the big folk had a hard time keeping up with hobbits when it came to eating.

 

Bilbo set the contract down and picked up his own tea with a nod of thanks, carefully setting out his thoughts. “cousin, have you considered, that neither of our people need to fulfill this contract to its fullest? Hear me out, I mean no offense when I say this, but this contract reflects an olden standard for dwarves. This contract, in a time of wealth for them, which I remind you, has not actually been the case for the exiled king and his people since before I myself was born, is plainly stated to benefit them, and not us, because our benefit from a contract such as this would be gold. Hobbits have no need for gold, and we are in a position of power over them right now. The contract can be renegotiated.”

 

Gandalf looked more than amused, while the thain just gave his cousin a look of mild -almost fake- disapproval. “Bilbo, lad, while the Shire understands that this contract is for their benefit, they’ve come to us for aid, we also understand that they are a hurt and lost people. They have lost their home to a dragon, and King Thorin isn’t even officially king because Gandalf still has no word if is father has passed or not-”

 

“Occasionally I still hear rumors of his presence in the world, but never have I been able to find him. His loss has driven his surviving children to an unending grief that cannot be stopped by word of his final rest.” Gandalf spoke with a sad tone of voice, and Bilbo knew, without confirmation, but he knew, that Gandalf considered the loss of King Thrain a loss of a personal friend.

 

He picked at the muffin on his plate for a moment, before taking a bite and turning back to Ferumbras. The older hobbit looked sad just for both the grief of the wizard and his cousin. Gandalf had been the first person to come when Belladonna had passed, and while Ferumbras could say he had never been particularly close to Bilbo, it was honestly good to know he was watched over. The subject of lost parents was a painful one. “Bilbo, I will send Gandalf to renegotiate the contract if it proves that we cannot fulfill all terms of agreement. I am a thain, not a king, not even a lord, I cannot, and will not force a marriage just to satisfy all parties. That is why I have asked you here. I wanted your opinion on the contract, I would like to know if you would know of someone who would fulfill our end of it, and if not, I would like you to help me rewrite it to be sent back with Gandalf to the Blue Mountains. This contract, no matter how we put it, is for their benefit. Hobbits truly do not need to gain anything from the dwarves of the Blue Mountains, but with this contract, they can finally rest assured knowing they will not starve or go without help when needed.”

 

Bilbo picked up the contract again, nodding. “Alright, so their side of the contract says they will provide workers for our fields, I assume that part is in order?”

 

Ferumbras nodded. “The more workers we have, the more fields we can crop, the more animals we can herd, the more food we’ll collect at the end of the year. The Shire has the land, we only need more people to work it.”

 

“That would benefit them greatly if we could get a large enough crop, they wouldn’t be starving anymore. This contract does seem more than a bit old fashioned, why was the subject of marriage even brought up to begin with?”

 

Gandalf sat up a little, pulling out his long pipe. “In the past, a marriage between royalty was seen as a concession on their part, that it would bring others into the royal family and raise their status in court. I believe Thorin actually hopes this will soften the contract, since his people are getting the majority of the benefit from this.”

 

Bilbo snorted, looking scandalized. The very idea of bartering with  _ love _ of all things-! It was irrational, just the sort of thing one should expect from dwarves.

 

“As if anyone in the Shire would marry for  _ status _ . Anyone but Lobelia, that is, what a horrible thought.”

 

Ferumbras held back a smile at his pouting cousin. It was a well known fact that Bilbo Baggins was all but repulsed by the idea of romance. Even as a tween, all advances were seen as predatory and given a wary eye before the lad would bolt like there were hounds at his heels, and it looks like, even past his majority, the man was still sticking up his nose at the idea.

 

Admittedly, Ferumbras and Bilbo had a lot more in common than they both thought. Ferumbras was a Took who managed to act like a Baggins more often than not, and Bilbo was exactly the opposite, but they had more in common than it seemed. Ferumbras was amazingly fond of his cousin. He was more like a nephew than a cousin to be honest.

 

Bilbo picked up the contract and started reading it over again, biting his lip. Ferumbras just waited for his final assessment. Bilbo was quiet, and he didn’t have too many friends in the Shire. Half his family said he acted too much like a Took, but the other half scoffed at him for wanting to be accepted as a Baggins. But in the end, he was well taught, possibly the smartest hobbit in the whole Shire when it came to language and the written word, and when you were quiet, people talked around you. If Bilbo told him to axe the marriage clause from the contract, he wouldn’t hesitate.

 

Bilbo’s eyes went curious and he set the large page down again. “‘-the spouse of the ruling king of the Blue Mountains would act as an ambassador between the people of Ered Luin and the Shire, entitled to but not limited to; cultural knowledge and libraries, and any tools required to act in the king’s stead when the concern of Shire bound workers are involved.’” He quoted verbatim from the page without looking back down at it, and Ferumbras took a moment to marvel at the way his mind worked, for not the first time in his life. “Ferumbras, the marriage may not be for love, but they  _ are _ looking for a lifelong alliance between the Shire and their people. That’s the whole point of a marriage of convenience, I assume, to create a lifelong contract between both parties. They want assurance that the contract will last at the very least, the lifetime of a hobbit. I guess that is a good enough reason.”

 

Ferumbras nodded his head a few times. “Yes, I’ve considered that, but we just won’t find anyone willing to spend the rest of their lives in a mountain.”

 

Bilbo waved off the concern as if it was offensive to even think of. “Nonsense, a marriage, whether convenient or not, involves a give and take of power,  _ even _ with a king. He’s not going to trap anyone in that mountain of his, and it would be  _ cruel _ of him to even think of barring them from the outside world. A gilded cage is still a cage, and as well as they would hurt to live outside of stone for all their life, a hobbit would wither and die without sun and plants to sustain them. He wants an alliance, not a prisoner. He’ll be reasonable.”

 

Ferumbras considered that for a moment. He had thought of that, but had considered that maybe he gave the dwarven king too much credit, but Bilbo was in agreement with him that King Thorin wouldn’t trap a hobbit. “Well then, who do you consider for the position?”

 

Bilbo barely waited a fraction of a second before replying. “Me, of course.”

 

Ferumbras was quiet for all of a minute, before sharply turning to look at the wizard in the corner, who was staring at Bilbo in intense concentration.

 

“Gandalf?” He didn’t know what else to say. He was the only asking if anyone wanted to get tied to a dwarf for the rest of their life, he couldn’t very well talk the lad out of it simply because he was his beloved little cousin… 

 

Gandalf finally opened his mouth to speak to the quiet hobbit in the chair. “You are a few years younger than we were hoping for, in terms of a marriage, Bilbo, but I cannot deny that your lifespan would likely match Thorin’s with precision.”

 

Bilbo flinched. “...Mother and Father were the same age.” They didn’t die at the same time.

 

Gandalf lowered the pipe down to his lap, a grieved look on his features. “Bilbo, I understand you feel lost after your mother,” it’s been four years and Bilbo still looks like it still hurt like it was that morning, for both of them. Belladonna had been one of the best companions Gandalf had ever had the pleasure of keeping, “but this contract is, as you said, for life. Once you are married, there is no coming back without causing a political fallout between his people and yours. This is not a spur of the moment decision.”

 

Bilbo got a blank look on his face. Ferumbras saw that look when his young cousin wanted to scream but had no energy, wanted to sob and yell, but no drive to express it out loud. He saw that look at funerals, and occasionally, when Bilbo was left alone with his thoughts too long. Pain set in when you thought about it hard enough.

 

“I’ve felt lost for a lot longer than since her passing, Gandalf. It’s only that since she’s gone, I no longer have anything tying me here.” He turned to Ferumbras. “Cousin, I do love you, and I will always appreciate the help you give me and how you actually hold me in high regard, but… I haven’t… cared, not in a long time. I still want to keep Bag End. To come home to it when I come to bathe myself in light and life, but waking up there every day, it hurts like a wound you can’t stop picking at. Let me go to Ered Luin. If I absolutely cannot stand the king, I’ll renegotiate the contract and come home again.”

 

Ferumbras watched the utter pain on his face as he spoke, and he wished he was more like a Took, that he could pull Bilbo into his arms and comfort him without feeling awkward at the touch. More than that, he wished he knew that Bilbo wouldn’t pull away out of propriety, even though he knew he would.

 

He gave the hobbit a sad smile. “Are you sure you aren’t just running away at the promise of a new library to plunder?”

 

Bilbo finally cracked a smile, looking surprisingly genuine when he replied. “I’m not going to lie, it sweetens the deal.”

 

Sometimes Ferumbras thought that Bilbo just wanted to drown himself in other people’s lives, so he didn’t have to focus on his own. He just hoped that whatever the hobbit found in the Blue Mountains was enough to convince him he can look at his own life without hating it.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> littlesforfandom.tumblr.com
> 
> Anyways, as always, asking me to update or when I'm going to update is a thing that pisses me off beyond belief, but at the same time I very much appreciate the nice comments, thank you.
> 
> Bilbo is def depressed in this. It's... it's the 'run from your problems even if they're people' syndrome and lol guess what me and my sis and my mom all have it and it's caused my mom to do some Dumb Shit like abandoning us on a whim to leave town for the weekend, shit like that. That doesn't mean that Bilbo wanting to leave is wrong though. Sometimes the depression really is made worse by not having friends. That doesn't mean he'll be depending on the dwarves to make him better, but that does mean that the longer he stays in an environment with minimal support and constant judgement, the worse his depression will get, so tbh going to Ered Luin is actually going to help him because often times, environment is a huge percentage of your depression. Also lack of friends will make a person worse.
> 
> Again, don't depend on others to fix you, but also, isolation will never be the answer because it will make you worse.


End file.
